Hatching!

HATCHING! Even tho some nests have just laid eggs, our earliest nests have begun hatching. I am watching the first feeding I have seen this year. Still a thrill to see after all these years! The male brought a whole fish, tho his crop is empty, and the female started eating the head of the fish, the boney, tough parts. Now she is leaning into the nest cup with tiny soft bits of fish flesh....quiety peeping, as the male watches. I find it so touching. I will not be able to see chicks for quite a while...ten days or so, but the behavior is unmistakable. I love the quiet peeps they make as they 
encourage the wee ones to eat. These early feedings are over so quickly. Those tiny crops just can't hold much! Th male has taken what is left of the fish and moved to the nest perch to eat.
So we are off into the next phase of the breeding season. Our work gets harder now....I waited for two hours for this confirmation of hatching, tho I knew from the adults behavior shortly after I arrived. I waited for proof.
New nests continue to pop up...another one reported by one of our long time volunteers yesterday...and sadly our first report of a failed nest. Both adults are fine, but they are no longer incubating, so something happened to the eggs.
We can break out the bubbly tonight because we have our first chicks of the 2016 season!